


Beware the Mascoundrels!

by monakaatowa



Series: Dreams AU [1]
Category: PJ Masks (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, using the translated book names for them but i come up with my own names in the story fyi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-22 01:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14298051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monakaatowa/pseuds/monakaatowa
Summary: PJ Masks we're the PJ Ma-wait, wrong characters.





	Beware the Mascoundrels!

**Author's Note:**

> I wanna clarify that these arent my ocs lmao
> 
> Lilifee and the three kids are from the picture books. you can find a translation on a tumblr blog called faline-cat444 in their pj masks tag. also might wanna read the origin book there too cuz its referenced a little
> 
> some of the stuff is my au work which im working on. i wrote this to help me plan it out but figured theres no harm in posting it if someone else enjoys it
> 
> maybe ill do other book charas too idk

 

I covered the window with old curtains I scavenged from the neighbor's trash, because if I didn't, then Warren would cry all night again and mom would force him to sleep outside again.

Warren and Raphael shared the only bed we had, while I had to sleep on the floor. We could probably afford another mattress if we tried, but mom doesn't care enough. She never does. At least I get an extra blanket.

"Are you awake, Tina?" Raphael squeaked like a little mouse. He slept on the side that faced me because Warren got tired of him waking him up to have a midnight conversation. Raphael slid off his covers and sat down on the floor next to me.

"Yeah." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes raw. "Had another weird dream?"

"Mhm." he said. "I dreamt I was running from someone, so I hid by the trash cans behind that fancy candy shop."

"Really?" I said. If I didn't act like I was invested in the conversation, he started to complain. He used to get attention from both mom and dad when dad was alive, so mom tells us to pay more attention to him because he needs it.

"Yeah! And, I was hiding from this scary thing, when suddenly," he stood up and scurried around the room. "A bunch of rats showed up and scared it off!"

"Rats, huh." I sighed. "How many time do I have to tell you, don't play with the animals outside. They have diseases." I then grabbed his wrist and tugged him back to bed. "And don't make so much noise. Warren's asleep."

"Sorry." he whispered. He climbed back into bed and gently covered himself with the blanket that they shared. I stared outside the window, at the moon, and gently dozed off.

The next day was school-which didn't mean much to me. I ended up getting in trouble because I couldn't sit still, but it's not my fault my back hurts all day. I then got yelled at by the principal, then stuck in partial suspension. I eventually up getting out an hour late, and walked home with my two brothers.

Along the way, Warren wanted to stop at the park and play with the worms flopping around in the soil. I let Raphael play a little ways away on the swings, and positioned myself so I could keep an eye on them both. Mom always warns us to stay away from strange people and keep an eye on each other, or we'll end up like dad.

"Tina, look!" Warren cried. He ran towards the jungle gym and climbed up the ladder. He then swung himself onto the first rung, and slowly climbed his way across, landing on the platform on the other side.

"Didja see!?" he cheered, jumping up and down. Raphael rolled his eyes and kicked himself higher on the swing.

"I can do that." I said, getting on the jungle gym as well. While climbing the rungs, I saw a few kids from school on the sidewalk. They looked at us with disgust, then turned their noses and snickered about something.

I felt frustrated. Every time they look at us like that, push us around, act like we're nothing like garbage. And it's not just them. When parents come to pick up the other kids, they never want to get near us. They whisper nasty things. They wonder why we bother showing up.

Ever since dad went away, everyone's made it clear that things would be better if we all disappeared with him. Mom always tells us that it's not her fault she gets in so much trouble. The world wants us to be pushed on and stepped over, so we shouldn't care about the world.

It doesn't make it hurt any less.

* * *

When we got home, mom wasn't there, so we went to the toy shop's trash. Since we got caught too many times taking the little toys, we couldn't go in anymore, so we wiggled through a small hole in the fence to get to the big dumpster where the broken and old toys are thrown. Warren kept watch for the owner while Raphael and I quietly rummaged through the trash. Warren was holding a worm he took from the mud, which was strangely still alive.

"Aha!" I said, holding up a teddy bear. One of the eyes were ripped off, but otherwise, it was in good shape.

"Look what I found!" Raphael said, picking out a train with the smoke thing chipped off.

"Warren, what do you want?" I asked.

"Something cool!"

After a bit, I managed to grab the toy of a superhero from another country called Energy man, with one of the arms chipped off.

"Hey, look at this!" Raphael had jumped out of the dumpster and was huddled behind it, staring at something. I jumped out and looked at it too.

"Is it dead?" I said. It was a rat curled up against the brick wall, with a small fly lying against it. It looked like it was still breathing.

"Ewwww." Warren said, staring over our shoulders. "Can I touch it?"

"No!" I said. "You'll get diseases."

"But it's hurt." Raphael said, reaching towards it and gently stroking its fur. It twitched slightly, then opened its eyes. The fly on top of it took off, floating close to the body.

It looked at us with curiosity. "Let's take it home." Raphael whispered.

"We can't." I said. "Mom's gonna get rid of it."

"Warren gets a pet, why can't I!?" Raphael screeched. In a panic, I threw my arms around his mouth, but it was too late. The toy store owner threw open his backdoor, and we dropped our toys in shock. The rat stood up with a jolt, and I spotted Warren's new worm squirming out of his grasp and towards the rat.

"What are  _you_  doing here again!?" he snapped, looming over us. "How many times do I gotta tell you kids that I never want you near my shop  _ever again_!"

"We're sorry!" Warren cried, bursting into tears.

"You're not sorry! If you were really sorry, you would stop!" he said. He leaned closer in, saying, "All you three ever do is cause trouble, and we have to clean up your messes! If you'd fix your attitudes, this wouldn't happen."

"Sorry." Raphael mumbled.

I slowly backed away, and he looked like he was going to blow his lid again when he spotted the rat. It tried to run, but he grabbed it by the tail.

"What's this thing doing here?" he said, wrinkling his face as he held it close to his face. Then, he threw it against the wall.

"Hey!" Raphael shouted.

"You can't do that!" I said. "What did the little guy ever do to you!?"

"Rats are filthy little things!" he snapped. "Does your mom let you play with those disgusting pests!?"

" _You're disgusting_!" I yelled. I'm so tired of everyone speaking down to us and treating us like dirt. I'm plain sick of it. In a fit of rage, I kicked him in the shin.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, grabbing his ankle. I ran towards the rat, and surprisingly, the worm had crawled on top of it, while that fly was still buzzing near it. Before I could check on it, he grabbed me by the back of my shirt and lifted me in the air.

"Don't think you can run anywhere!" he shouted, spit falling off his lip. "I'm calling the police! They'll get you straightened out, then maybe you'll finally learn about consequences!"

"Leave her alone!" Raphael yelled, and started to hit his leg. He put me down, but held onto my shirt.

"Stop it, kid, unless you want to get into trouble!" he yelled, then grabbed Raphael with his other hand.

"Go away!" Warren yelled, staying at a distance. "Why can't everyone leave our family alone!?"

The toy shop owner looked ready to lash out at him, but then the corner where the rat was started to glow. I heard words come through my ears super fast, like the wind was whispering into my ears, then I was thrown to the ground. A strong light engulfed me and a black shadow wrapped around my wrist. When the light finally dissipated, I was tugged into the air.

Tugged into the air, and never came back down.

I heard a faint buzz, until I realized that the buzz was coming from my back, and that I was flying.

"Woah!" I shouted, jerking to the right, then losing momentum and falling to the ground. I looked up, and realized I wasn't the only one looking different.

Raphael was wearing a huge rat costume that covered everything except his eyes and mouth, with a little tuft of grey hair on top of his head sticking up. Warren was wearing a full body suit of a worm, with a long worm tail and another little tail sticking out of his head.

"Woah…." Warren gasped, then put his hands onto the ground. He quickly dug into the ground, instantly creating a hole and vanishing. The toy shop owner looked at the hole, then looked at me. He screamed and ran.

"We gotta get out of here!" I shouted, taking off into the air. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to fly. Almost like it was second nature. "Follow me!"

Raphael followed me on the ground while Warren tailed him. We ran onto the streets and across the roads, to which passerbys began to freak out and run away. We had intended to go home, but suddenly a voice whispered through my ears.

"Don't go that way." it said. "Follow us." I felt my wings being tugged in a certain direction. I looked down and saw that Raphael (who was now running on four legs) and Warren were going a different way, so I followed the voice.

I flew, ignoring the chaos that we were causing, until we reached an old abandoned warehouse on the deserted side of town. I landed on the other side of the gate, while Raphael balanced onto his tail and climbed over the gate, and Warren dug a hole under it and emerged on the other side. Once we were all together, we pushed open the big door and went inside.

"This is so  _cool_!" Warren cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "I have super digging!"

"Yeah, but did you see how fast I was running?" Raphael bragged. "I was like 'woooshh'!"

"But I can fly, so I win." I said, hovering above the ground.

While I was a little carried away by the situation, I wondered where that voice came from. At least I didn't have to wonder long.

"Humans," I heard, and before our eyes the silhouettes of these magical creatures appeared. It wasn't until they were fully there that I recognized them as a rat, a worm, and a fly. "We must thank you for saving us." They seemed to speak in unison….if they were even speaking at all and not just making us hear things in our minds, or other magicky things.

"Uh, Y-You're welcome," Warren stuttered, "but what are you?"

"We are totem spirits," the things said, "and we have lost our home, and have wandered the earth trying to find our purpose."

"So why did you help us?" Raphael asked.

"Did you give us these powers?" I asked.

"Yes," they said. "Since we cannot find our purpose, we must repay you three for trying to save us. Are you children unhappy?"

I didn't know what to say. I looked at Raphael, but he was looking at me.

"We will lend you our powers. Do as you like with them, but make sure the outcome is one that makes you happy." The magic creatures then disappeared.

"Wow." I muttered, then looked down at my costume. Honestly, I'm not sure I cared about being happy. As long as my brothers were, I'd be fine. I'd do anything for them.

"So….now what?" Warren said. "I wanna go home. I'm hungry."

"I'll find the way back." I said, beginning to hover. "Just follow me again."

We left the warehouse, and I flew above the streets for about a minute before a commotion was stirred up again.

"There they are!" I heard a policeman yell. Looking down, I saw a car pull over in the middle of the intersection, causing a traffic jam and angry people to come out of their cars to scream and complain. Raphael and Warren were standing right in the middle, completely petrified. I immediately flew down and stood in front of them.

Two people were inside the police car: the actual policeman, and the scary toy shop owner from earlier. He only stuck his head out for a few seconds, then spotted us and ducked back in.

"We didn't do anything wrong!" Warren squealed, clinging to Raphael.

"Please let us go, mister." I said. He grunted, then struck the ground in front of me with his black club. I jolted into the air.

"Holy smokes, the kid really can fly!" he exclaimed, backing up a few steps. "Looks like you weren't making up stories after all." He then pulled out a walkie talkie from his pocket and shot us a glare. "Now, don't run off or try anything. I gotta keep the peace, even if it's from some part animal  _things_  running around." With that, he babbled into his walkie talkie while we stood there confused.

"I don't wanna get arrested!" Warren cried. "I wanna go home!" He decided to dig a hole and run off towards home instead.

"Get back here!" I yelled. I didn't bother going for the hole he dug, instead taking off into the air and flying home. I looked down to see Raphael panic for a few seconds before taking off into a sprint into the busy streets. I quickly swooped down and grabbed him before he could get hit by a car.

"You're too heavy!" I groaned, barely holding onto him by the fur on his neck. "When we get home, I'm not stealing any more candies for you!"

"Noooooo!" he cried.

I flew close to the apartment building we lived at, then dropped around a block away to avoid more attention. We were going to walk were, but I spotted a bunch of police cars nearby, and realized that going home wasn't an option anymore.

"Where's Warren?" Raphael stammered. Although he wasn't as much of a crybaby as Warren, he still had a limit.

I thought for a few seconds before coming to a split second decision. "We'll go to the park." I said. "Then let's head back to that warehouse and stay the night."

"Okay." he sniffed, rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his costume. We headed to the park, and spotted Warren lying in the the mud and sobbing.

"Warren!" I cried, wrapping him in a hug despite being covered in mud. "We gotta run, now!" I said. "They're chasing us!"

Warren's eyes widened. "I wanna go home…." he mumbled, then Raphael punched him in the shoulder. He sniffed again, then nodded. "Okay. Run."

"Follow me again, alright?" I said. I flew into the air, making sure to stay low enough to avoid being spotted and high enough to keep an eye on my brothers. We journeyed back to the abandoned warehouse and, seeing that there were no police cars around, we went back inside.

It was starting to get dark, so we scavenged the building to find anything to sleep on. Raphael scratched through the flooring and uncovered some fuzzy layer that was soft enough to be a bed, so he ripped up three beds for us.

"How do we take these things off?" Warren said. "I don't wanna sleep in this, I'm covered in mud."

"There's a leak you can wash off with outside." I said. "And you wore the same pair of pants for a month, why are you complaining about clean clothes now?"

"I dunno." he sighed. He then curled up on his little bed, then yelled, "I'm still hungry!"

"We all are." Raphael said. "But we can't get any 'cause we already took too much and nobody wants us near them."

Warren flopped over onto his side, then said, "But I can dig a hole under it and take stuff while nobody's there!"

"No, you can't." Raphael said.

"Yes I can!"

"You can't." I said. We're not allowed in, and you can get the door open so you'll get everything all dirty."

"Then Raphael breaks the lock!" Warren said. "Let's do it! I'm hungry!" He got out of his bed and jumped up and down. I was going to tell him to lie down and go to sleep already, then I felt my own tummy grumble.

"...I'm hungry too." Raphael said, getting up.

"If you're all in, so am I." I finally got up out of bed. "So, what're we gonna take?"

"Candy!" Raphael and Warren cheered.

"I want fancy candy!" Warren added.

"Fancy candy!" Raphael repeated what he said. "Let's go, let's go!"

"We should wait until later." I said. "There's too many police around." Despite Warren's protests, we played a few games until the sun went down and we knew they gave up on finding us.

We left our new hideout, but instead of flying above us, I walked on the ground to be more hidden. The streets were mostly deserted, but a few people were walking by, and the buzz of passing cars could still be heard. When it got too dangerous, Warren dug a hole, and we all squirmed through the small passageway.

He dug for about a block before he got tired, and we hid near an open alley next to the shop. We waited until there didn't seem to be anyone nearby, then I stuck my head out.

"It's closed." I whispered, and we went to work. Warren dug right in front of the door, and Raphael clawed at the large lock. Eventually, he got frustrated and grabbed the lock with his teeth, ripping it off the door.

"Cool…." I said. We both entered the shop. Warren grabbed a bag and was shoving everything chocolate he could find, then grabbed a few fruit candies for me. Then, he handed the bag to me.

We only took a few step out of the shop before a police car pulled over in front of the door. In a panic, I took off into the air.

"Run!" I yelled, but they were already ahead of me. With Warren's digging, my flying, and Raphael's speed, no one could ever catch up.

I flew and flew, then descended when it became safe. Raphael caught up to me, and Warren emerged from the ground. I handed the bag off to Raphael, who held between his teeth and ran, then Warren and I continued on foot, careful to avoid policeman who traveled to the outskirts of the city to find us.

We used the darkness to hide, then climbed through the fence. On the other side, I saw a few lights flash nearby, then disappear. That brought a smile to my face. At least they couldn't find us here.

When we went back inside, we saw Raphael eating a big candy bar.

"Gimmie!" I said, snatching a lollipop from the bag. Warren took a box of those fancy chocolates, and we enjoyed our first taste of freedom.

"That was so cool!" Raphael said. "We should do that again!"

"But what if we get caught?" I said. "I don't wanna get in trouble."

"But they can't catch us!" Warren said. "Didja see how fast you were going? It was really fast!"

"I don't know." I said, but deep inside I felt happy. Happy like when dad would bring me a treat from work, or take me to the toy store after school.

"Let's take some toys tomorrow!" Warren said. "I wanna get an action figure that isn't missing a limb."

"I want a teddy bear that isn't missing an eye." I said. "Yeah, let's do it!"

"And we're too fast, so we'll never get in trouble again!" Raphael cried.

"Yeah!" I cheered. Any hesitation that I had was wrong. After all, mom said that the world didn't want us. So we don't want the world telling us what to do anymore. If we wanna be happy, then we can be happy. It's what those totem spirits gave us these powers for, right? To be happy. And I am, so it's fine.

It wasn't until I woke up in the middle of the night that I realized I forgot about mom.

* * *

"These masked scoundrels have terrorized our streets for about a month." the reporter droned on the TV. "Right now, we have reports of another heist by them taking place at the jewelry store in the tourist district."

"Hey, that's us!" I said, pointing towards the display of TVs in the window. "Tina, look!"

"Raphael, run!" she shouted, taking off higher. I got back on all fours and scurried off, cutting through shortcuts behind buildings and reaching the park. There, she dropped the bag, and I caught it and hung it between my teeth.

I planned to run through the park, cut through the school, and go through the homes to get back to base, but I saw a bunch of police cars in front of the school. I panicked and ran back towards the tourist district, and as soon as people saw me, they screamed and ran.

"It's those thieving children!" one woman screamed, scooping up her child. "We need to let the police handle this!"

I used the chaos to rush straight through the street, cars stopping when the saw me, but eventually I saw three police cars catching up. Tina flew over the buildings and descended next to me, flying at the same speed. "What are you doing?" she said.

"Lift me!" I yelled. Another wave of screams rose up, and the crowd of people trying to escape got so congested that I had to stop. Luckily the police couldn't maneuver very well either.

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine, and more people flipped out like the world was ending. All I could do was stand there while people ran, shooting continuous glances at something behind me.

The crowd finally started to clear and I tried to run, but I slipped and collapsed on the….the ice?

"What!?" I yelled, struggling to get back to my feet. "Tina, don't land!"

"Got it!" she said, barely hovering. A few feet away, I saw Warren burst through the ice and crawl towards me, only for the hole to freeze over.

"So cold…." Warren muttered, curling up into a ball. Looking ahead, the entire street had frozen, and the frost had crawled up the stores on the street. Cars were abandoned and semi frozen, and the people remaining, slipping and sliding, looked at us like we had something to do with this.

Strangely, a small cloud drifted from the night sky, until it was nearly level on the ground. A girl our age was on it, with blonde twintails, and a white dress with a mask tied around her head and eyes.

"Greetings." she said, hopping off her cloud and balancing perfectly on the ice. "My name is Lilifée."

"Lilifeh?" I said, and her face scrunched up in annoyance.

"Call me Lilifee." she said. "Like I said it!"

"Lilifeeeeeh?" Tina said, then laughed.

"Excuse me! This is not what I'm here for." she shouted, crossing her arms. She then pointed at us and said, "You three are using the powers of the totem spirits to rob and torment people!"

I picked the bag off the ground. "We're not taking things because we want to." I said. "We don't have anything."

"I could understand stealing food, but jewels?" she said. "You don't need that! You're only stealing that because you're greedy!"

"We're not!" Tina huffed. "Why do they deserve it more than we do?"

"At least they didn't steal it and cause a scene!" Lilifee said. "Can't you understand? You're tormenting people!"

"But they all hate us anyway!" Warren said. "Even if we aren't stealing from them."

Her angry expression disappeared when he said that. "I'm sure that's not true." she said.

"It is!" Tina shouted. "You think you can come down on your little cloud and tell us what to do? We're sick of that! We're just trying to be happy!"

"Happy?" she said, messing with the hem of her dress. "Listen. You don't need to steal things to be happy. If you-If you really wanna be happy….then let me help."

"Huh?" I said.

"You guys have the power of the totem spirits, right?" she said. "Then-"

Suddenly, a car barreled through the deserted streets. The few people who were still left scrambled to get out of the way. The car skidded and came to a stop in the middle of the intersection, nearly running over Lilifee.

"Hey!" she shouted, running out of the way. She then put her hand to the ground, causing the ice to disappear.

Two men slammed the door open and pointed a gun at Lilifee. Those things that make people die. As much as I didn't like her showing up and ruining our night, I didn't want her to disappear like daddy did.

"Where are those jewels?" one of them growled, then looked at me. Tina yelped and took off.

"Here!" I said, dropping the bag. "I don't want them! Take it and leave us alone!"

The two men looked at each other, then the other man pulled another gun and pointed it at Warren.

"Go away!" I screamed. "Please go!"

"You really think we're gonna be okay with this?" the man from before sneered. "You kids are gonna clear that whole store out before we let you go!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lilifee lightly tap her foot against the ground. The ground froze over again, and they began to slip. Tina swooped in and grabbed the gun from one guy, while Lilifee skated over and grabbed the other gun.

"You're so mean!" I yelled. I unsteadily got on all fours and charged at one of the guys, knocking him into his car, while Warren tied the other guy up with his tail. With another tap of her foot, all the ice disappeared. Cop cars drove into the area and cautiously apprehended the men and grabbed the bag of jewels.

When one of the grabbed me by the arm, Lilifee stood in front of him with a huff. She's my age, but she's trying to act like she's older.

"You can't take them. They're with me." she said.

"You?" the policeman said, nearly bursting into laughter. "Are you magical too? I bet you're working with these masked criminals."

"She's with me, actually." From one of the police cars stepped out an old man in a suit. As soon as he saw him, the policeman straightened his back and let go of my arm.

"Mr. Duvin, I'm sorry." he said. "If you're here, then it must be about that. We'll leave these kids to your discretion." Seconds later, I felt Tina and Warren pull me into a hug.

"I-I, ahhhhhh!" Warren wailed, already crying again.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Tina mumbled. She started to cry a little too. I couldn't help it, I burst into tears.

While we cried, I saw Mr. Duvin looking at weirdly. "Sorry to interrupt," Lilifee said, "But we have some important business to talk about."

"Hm?" Tina stuck her head up and gave Lilifee a look. "What?"

"First of all," she sighed, "Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome." Warren mumbled, still holding onto me.

"Yeah." she said, frowning a little. "I was only here because the Protector of the Day Dreams sensed some rouge totem spirits fused with humans and were making an uproar, and there's no way that's not you three."

"So?" Tina said.

"So!?" Lilifee shouted, stomping her foot. "I come here to investigate and I see you robbing a jewelry store! You're lucky I didn't summon the Protector and strip you of your powers on the spot."

"I don't know what a protector is, but I don't wanna get in trouble." I said, wriggling free of Warren's grasp.

"Ugh!" Lilifee said. "How old are you three? Six?"

"They're six, I'm eight." Tina said.

"That's not the point!" Lilifee snapped. Before she could lose her temper any further, Mr. Duvin leaned down and patted her on the head.

"I'll handle it from here." he said, walking closer to us. When Tina planted herself firmly in front of Warren and I, he backed off, but was still smiling.

"I want you children to understand, we don't hate you." Mr. Duvin stepped forward. "Forget the town. Forget what they think of you. I came here today because I need a favor from you three."

Tina frowned. "Can we get everything we want?"

"Yeah!" Warren said.

"Yes, yes." he insisted, adjusting his tie. "What you did to stop those criminals was amazing. And I'm sure if you work together, you can protect the whole city."

"Why? What's in it for us?" I said. Doing things for the city didn't leave me all that happy. Especially if I have to see those things that made dad disappear every day.

"I'll give you everything you want." he said. "You can live in a big house, have as much candy as you want, have as many toys as you want."

"Can we stop going to school?" Tina said. "Nobody likes us."

"Of course. We'll find something else." he said. "Will this arrangement be alright, Ms. Lilifee?"

She crossed her arms. "If it's like this, I'm sure the other dream spirits and the Protector will be satisfied." she said. "But remember our promise. If those kids make any more trouble, I'm taking them with me." With that, she waved her hands, and a small cloud drifted down from the sky. She hopped on it, and floated away into the sky.

"Was she an angel?" I asked.

"Angels aren't real." Tina said.

"They are!"

"They aren't!"

"Excuse me," Mr Duvin interrupted. "This is a yes, right? I'm sorry you can't live with your mother anymore, but this is the way it has to be now."

"I'm fine with it!" Warren shouted, and we all nodded. I like candy, toys, and no school too much to say no, and I won't miss home.

"A-All right." he said. "Please, get inside." he went back inside the police car, and we all piled in the backseat, to the nice place he told us about.

* * *

We got huge beds, and our own rooms, but we decided to share a room. There were enough beds for it, and it felt weird otherwise. I didn't bother paying attention to any adults other than Mr. Duvin. He treated us like we deserved to be there, but something bugged me about him. He acted like his dog was gonna die if he didn't make us live with him.

As soon as I tucked myself into bed, the costume I was wearing disappeared and turned into footie pajamas. It always did that every night, but this time he gave us clothes so we wouldn't transform again when we got up.

Warren and I got to sleep, while Mr. Duvin took Tina somewhere. We were worried for a little bit, but got distracted watching movies when some strangers brought a TV and a bunch of DVDs into our room. Once she got back, Warren was already asleep, and I was almost out.

Tina shook my shoulder. "Let's go to bed."

"M'kay." I muttered. We woke up Warren and tucked him in, then we got into bed. "Hey, Tina." I said. We put our beds close by so we could talk at night like we used to.

"What?"

"Where'd you guys go?"

"...Nowhere."

"Liar. Where'd you go?"

"Fine. I went to see mom."

"Really? What happened?" I felt my eyelids getting a little heavy.

"I'll tell you when you're older." she said, then rolled over and went to sleep.


End file.
